Now lawEnvironment & Energy Introduced in the Senate, 04 Feb 2026

Australia now protects sea life on the high seas

The High Seas Treaty covers the part of the ocean no country owns. This law sets the rules for Australian scientists, companies and ships working out there.

Official name: High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Marine scientists and universities: They must give notice before and after collecting sea life samples on the high seas. They must store the samples and data in approved places.
• Companies that use ocean genes: Firms that study sea life from the high seas, or make products from it, must tell the minister when they use it.
• Australian ships and businesses working on the high seas: They must follow the rules for protected areas. They need approval for activities that could do real harm.
• Licensed fishers: Fishing that already has its own rules is mostly let off the sample notice rules.
• The public: People can comment on big projects. A public list shows sample notices and certificates.

High seas belong to nobody

Every country controls the sea near its coast, usually out to about 200 nautical miles, or about 370 kilometres. Past that line is the high seas.

The government's notes on the bill say this covers over 60 per cent of the ocean's surface. It holds over 90 per cent of the ocean's water.

No single country is in charge of the high seas. So countries made a treaty at the United Nations in New York, to protect sea life there. A treaty is a deal between countries. This one is dated 20 September 2023.

Its full name is very long, so people call it the High Seas Treaty.

The treaty took effect around the world on 17 January 2026. Australia can only join once its own law matches the treaty. This law does that.

The government says a healthy ocean supports fishing, tourism and other jobs. It also says Australia's own marine parks cover 52 per cent of its waters. The treaty could let Australia link new protected areas on the high seas to those parks.

Environment Minister Senator Murray Watt brought the bill to Parliament. The law covers three parts of the treaty. They deal with sea life samples, protected areas and checks on harm to the ocean.

Ground rules for the law

The law does not apply to the seas around Antarctica. Those waters already have their own treaty and Australian law.

The minister must play it safe. That means a lack of full scientific proof is no excuse to delay steps that stop harm to the ocean.

Sea life samples and data

Scientists and companies take samples from the deep sea, such as sponges, germs and fish. They study the genes inside. This can lead to new medicines or other products. The law calls this material marine genetic resources.

The gene data stored on computers is called digital sequence information. The treaty wants the benefits of this research shared fairly between countries.

Under the law, an Australian who plans to collect samples on the high seas must tell the minister first. They must do it at least 6 months before collecting starts, or as soon as they can if that is not possible.

They must send another notice after the trip. They must also send a notice when they use the material or data, for example in research or making products. The minister can then issue a certificate.

Samples and data must go into an approved database or storage bank. The owners of those banks must keep records of who uses the material. They must report to the minister every two years.

Say a uni team plans a deep sea trip in the Indian Ocean. It would tell the minister six months ahead and report what it found afterwards. It would then put the samples and gene data in an approved bank.

Breaking these rules can bring a fine. For example, collecting without the first notice can mean up to 200 penalty units for a person. A penalty unit is a fixed dollar amount used to set fines. A company can face five times that.

Protected areas at sea

The countries in the treaty meet at a big meeting called the Conference of the Parties. Parties here means the countries that have joined. It can vote to set up protected areas on the high seas, such as marine parks.

If Australia accepts a decision, the minister must name a specially managed area. The minister must then make a plan with the rules for that area, usually within 120 days.

If Australia objects to a decision, the minister must still put other steps in place. The only exception is if another Australian law already does the same job. These steps can work differently, but they must protect the area just as well.

The rules can set up permits and ban activities in these areas. Breaking a plan can bring up to 2 years in jail or 500 penalty units, or both.

Checks before risky activities

Some activities could harm the high seas. They include work done in Australian waters whose effects spread out to sea. They also include Australian activities on the high seas themselves.

A person planning such an activity must tell the minister about it. For work in Australian waters, the test is whether it could cause big pollution or big harmful change on the high seas.

For work out on the high seas, the test is different. It is whether the harm could be more than small or short-lived, or is unknown.

The minister can let off work that another Australian law already checks to the same standard. The minister can also ask a person to send in an activity.

The minister may decide an activity needs a check. Then the person must do a full study of the harm it might do. It must use the best science. It must also use any useful traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples, the first peoples of a land, or local communities.

The public gets at least 10 working days to comment when an activity is sent in. Draft reports are also opened for comment. Other countries and the treaty's science body can comment too.

The minister then decides yes or no, and can add conditions. The minister must give reasons for a no.

People can ask the Administrative Review Tribunal to look at many of these decisions. It checks government decisions, like a court but less formal.

The punishments are serious. Doing an activity that causes big harm without approval can bring up to 7 years in jail or 1,000 penalty units, or both. Companies face five times the fine.

Register, inspectors and information

The minister must set up a public list called the High Seas Biodiversity Register. Biodiversity means the variety of living things. It shows the certificates for collecting and using samples, and who has been let off.

The head of the environment department can appoint inspectors. They get the normal federal powers to check and look into cases.

The department can also demand papers, giving at least 14 days to hand them over. It can order audits, which are formal checks of records.

The law also limits who can use or share private information collected under it. Officials who leak it without a good reason can be punished.

Money, reviews and other rules

The law gives the government the legal power to spend money and give grants linked to the treaty.

A review of the law by someone outside the government must happen within 10 years. Then it must happen every 10 years after that.

The minister can hand some powers to others. That includes the head of the new National Environmental Protection Agency, which enforces national nature laws.

The minister can also write detailed rules, including fees. The fees cannot be so high that they work like a tax.

Start date

The bill started in the Senate, one of the two houses of Parliament, on 4 February 2026. The Senate passed it on 23 March 2026. It first agreed to 15 changes put forward by the Greens party.

The House of Representatives, the larger house of Parliament, passed it on 31 March 2026.

The Governor-General, the King's stand-in, signed it into law on 8 April 2026. It is now Act No. 42 of 2026.

The law only starts working once the treaty is in force for Australia. That happens 30 days after Australia formally joins. If Australia never joins, the law never starts. The minister must announce the start date publicly.

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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